How to Add Google Analytics to Big Cartel

Connecting Google Analytics to your Big Cartel shop is one of the quickest ways to understand who your customers are and how they find you. This article will show you exactly how to set up the connection, verify that it’s working, and start digging into the data to make smarter decisions for your store.

Why Connect Google Analytics to Your Big Cartel Store?

Big Cartel's built-in dashboard gives you a nice overview of your orders and products, but it only tells part of the story. Google Analytics fills in the gaps, giving you a powerful, free tool to understand the entire customer journey, not just the final sale.

Here’s what you unlock by making this simple connection:

• Deep Audience Insights: Go beyond view counts to learn about your visitors' age, gender, location, and interests. You can also see what devices they’re using to browse your store, which is crucial for ensuring your site looks great on both mobile and desktop.
• Uncover Your Top Traffic Sources: How are people finding your shop? Is it through Instagram, a link from a friend's blog, or are they finding you directly through Google search? GA4's Traffic Acquisition report answers this question, showing you which channels are working so you can focus your marketing efforts.
• Track User Behavior: Discover which products are getting the most attention by seeing which pages are viewed most often. You can also trace the path visitors take through your site, identifying popular pages and potential drop-off points before checkout.
• Measure Your Marketing ROI: When you run a social media ad, an email campaign, or a special promotion, you want to know if it's actually driving traffic. GA4 lets you see traffic spikes and attribute them directly to your marketing activities.

In short, Google Analytics helps you move from guessing to knowing. It gives you concrete data to back your creative ideas and turn your Big Cartel shop into a smarter, more effective business.

First, Set Up Your Google Analytics 4 Property

Before you can connect anything to Big Cartel, you need a Google Analytics 4 property ready to go. If you already have one, you can skip to the next section and grab your Measurement ID. If you're starting from scratch, just follow these quick steps.

Step 1: Create a Google Account (if you don’t have one)

You’ll need a standard Google account to use Google Analytics. If you use Gmail or any other Google service, you’re all set.

Step 2: Go to Google Analytics and Create an Account

Head over to the Google Analytics website and sign in. You’ll be prompted to create an "Account." Think of this as the top-level folder for your business. Enter your business or shop name and adjust the data-sharing settings as you see fit.

Step 3: Create a GA4 Property

Next, you’ll be asked to create a "Property." This is where the data from your Big Cartel store will live.

• Property name: Enter the name of your Big Cartel store.
• Reporting time zone & currency: Select your local time zone and currency so your reports make sense.

On the next screen, you’ll be asked for some basic business information. Fill this out to help Google tailor your experience. Finally, accept the terms of service.

Step 4: Find Your Measurement ID

Once you’ve created your property, you need to set up a "Data Stream." This is the pipeline that sends data from your website to your GA4 property.

1. Choose "Web" as your platform.
2. Enter your Big Cartel shop's URL (e.g., https://yourshop.bigcartel.com) and give the stream a name (e.g., "Big Cartel Store").
3. Click "Create stream."

After a moment, you'll see a "Stream details" page. In the top right corner, you’ll find your Measurement ID. It will look something like this: G-XXXXXXXXXX. This is the golden ticket. Copy it and keep it handy for the next section.

How to Add Google Analytics to Big Cartel (Step-by-Step)

With your GA4 Measurement ID copied, you're ready to make the connection. Big Cartel makes this incredibly easy - no code required.

Step 1: Log in to your Big Cartel Admin

Navigate to your Big Cartel account and log in to your store's dashboard.

Step 2: Go to Your Account Settings

In the top right corner of the admin panel, click "Account" from the dropdown menu.

Step 3: Scroll Down to Integrations

On the Account page, scroll down and look for the "Integrations" section. You'll see an input field labeled "Google Analytics."

Step 4: Paste Your Measurement ID

Click into the text field and paste the Measurement ID (the G-XXXXXXXXXX code) you copied from your Google Analytics data stream.

Step 5: Click Save

Hit the "Save" button to lock in your changes. And that's it! You've officially connected Google Analytics to your store.

Important Note: Don't be alarmed if you don't see data right away. It can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours for Google Analytics to start populating your reports with website traffic. Give it a little time before you dive in.

Verifying That Your Connection Is Working

Want to be sure everything is hooked up correctly? The quickest way is to use the Realtime report in Google Analytics. This feature shows you activity on your site as it happens.

1. Open your Google Analytics dashboard and navigate to Reports > Realtime. The overview map should appear, showing "Users in last 30 minutes.”
2. In a separate browser window or tab, open your live Big Cartel store. It’s often best to use an incognito window to ensure your visit is registered as a new session.
3. Click around on a few products or pages.
4. Switch back to your GA4 Realtime report. Within a minute or two, you should see your own visit pop up. The user counter should change to "1" and you'll see your approximate location appear on the map.

If you see your activity, congratulations - you’re all set! If you don't see anything after a few minutes, double-check that you copied and pasted the correct Measurement ID in your Big Cartel settings without any extra characters or spaces.

What to Track Now That You’re Connected

Okay, you're gathering data. Now what? The real value comes from interpreting it. For a busy store owner, it’s best to focus on a few key reports that give you actionable insights.

1. Know Your Audience (Demographics & Tech Reports)

Get a clear picture of who is browsing your shop. In Google Analytics, navigate to Reports > User > User Attributes. Here, you'll find overviews of:

• Country/City: Where in the world are your visitors coming from? If you notice a big audience in an unexpected city or country, you could consider running targeted ads there or looking into more affordable shipping options.
• Gender & Age: Learning the primary age range and gender of your audience helps you tailor your product photos, descriptions, and social media content to resonate with them.

You can also go to Reports > Tech > Tech details to see what devices (desktop, mobile, tablet) and browsers visitors are using. If you find that 80% of your visitors are on mobile, it’s a good sign to spend extra time ensuring your shop looks and functions perfectly on a small screen.

2. Understand Your Traffic Sources (Traffic Acquisition Report)

This is arguably the most important report for marketers. It tells you exactly where your traffic is coming from. Go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.

You’ll see a breakdown of channels like:

• Direct: People who typed your store's URL directly into their browser. These are often repeat customers or people who already know your brand.
• Organic Search: Visitors who found you by searching on Google, Bing, etc. If this number is growing, your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts are paying off.
• Organic Social: Users who clicked a link from your non-paid social media profiles, like from your Instagram bio or a Facebook post.
• Referral: Traffic that came from a link on another website, like a blog feature or a link from a collaborator's site. This is great for spotting partnership opportunities.

By monitoring these sources, you can see which channels are driving the most engaged users and decide where to invest your time and money.

3. Analyze On-Site Behavior (Pages and Screens Report)

Want to know which products grab the most attention? The Pages and screens report has the answer. Navigate to Reports > Engagement > Pages and screens. Here, you can see a list of every page on your site sorted by views, telling you instantly which product pages are the most popular.

You can also use this report to identify your site's main entry points. Are people landing directly on product pages from ads, or are they starting at your homepage? This information helps you understand the different paths customers are taking to discover your goods.

A Quick Note on Big Cartel & Checkout Tracking

It's important to know that the standard Big Cartel integration has a limitation when it comes to tracking checkout. Your shop pages are on the yourshop.bigcartel.com domain, but the actual checkout process happens on the secure checkout.bigcartel.com domain.

For a basic GA4 integration, this means you can see all the visitor activity on your product pages, but seeing detailed e-commerce data like completed sales directly within Google Analytics isn't straightforward. However, the insights on traffic sources, popular products, and audience demographics are still incredibly valuable for shaping your marketing strategy.

Final Thoughts

Connecting your Big Cartel store to Google Analytics lifts the curtain on your store's performance. It gives you invaluable data about your customer’s behavior - from how they found you to which products they love - empowering you to make informed decisions that help your business grow.

Once you’re comfortable analyzing your shop's traffic in Google Analytics, the next step is often to combine that data with insights from your social media, ad platforms, and email marketing tools. This is where reporting can get tedious, involving logging into multiple platforms and stitching data together. To simplify this, we created Graphed. We connect to all your marketing and sales sources - like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, Shopify, and more - and let you build real-time dashboards and pull reports just by asking questions in plain English. This automates the manual work and gives you back hours to focus on strategy instead of spreadsheets.